Lyon admits not being guaranteed spot in first Test against India

Sydney: Incumbent Australian off spinner Nathan Lyon has claimed he is not a certainty to play in the first Test match against India in Chennai from February 22. When chairman of selectors John Inverarity announced the squad, he had boasted of the variety of options available including playing three quicks, one spinner and uncapped off spinning all rounder Glenn Maxwell as a five-man attack, adding that the one spinner would be either Lyon or Xavier Doherty.

Lyon had said on Friday that if India could field four spinners in a Test against England in Nagpur in December, then Australia should be looking strongly at playing two slow bowlers for this four-Test series. When asked if he was Australia`s No.1 spinner, Lyon said he would hope so, and he added that this is the beauty of Oz cricket at the moment, especially the squad they have got over here in India. Lyon added they have got different players and different skill levels to be able to create whatever captain Michael Clarke and coach Mickey Arthur want to take into the Test match. The off spinner said that he has to be bowling his best to cement his spot, adding that he is no guarantee to be picked in the first Test. Tasmanian left-arm tweaker Doherty, who played two Tests in 2010, is the other frontline spinner in the squad, however, he has picked up two scalps at an average of 80.00 in Sheffield Shield cricket this summer. Lyon has claimed 61 Test wickets at 32.16 but is yet to face the challenge of bowling spin in a Test in India, where batsmen have been raised on a diet of off breaks. ANI